REITS IN TIME OF COVID 19

Abstract

This paper examines the net impact of COVID-19 on US REITs returns by asset class relative to the recession caused by the Global Financial Crisis over the period of 2007-2009. The result indicates that the net impact of COVID-19 is positive and statistically significant on the returns for industrial REITs and office REITs, while the effect on residential and retail REITs is minimum. E-commerce and the demand for storage, distribution, and shipping attribute to the minimum price drawdown for industrial REITs during the recession in 2020 relative to office, residential, and retail REITs. Temporary closure of non-essential business, social distancing, and percentage rent clause attribute to the similar severity of price drawdown in residential and retail REITs in 2020 relative to the Global Financial Crisis.